Enigmatic Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa also departed Marseille before the campaign got fully underway, and they are now widely regarded as a selling club.

Buying Batshuayi would bolster Eagles top six tilt

Batshuayi’s 10 goals and five assists in 17 Ligue 1 outings to date has helped propel L’OM up to ninth in the table under former Real Madrid playing favourite and Olympiakos boss Michel – just four points off a European place.

That has attracted winter window suitors, however, and the Eagles could offer Batshuayi the chance to further press his claims for a spot in Belgium’s Euro 2016 squad by moving to Selhurst Park this January.

Coup capture of Cabaye means nothing’s impossible

Just to be linked with ex-Standard Liege striking prodigy Batshuayi is a clear indicator of the progress made by the Eagles, who pulled off one of the biggest summer transfer coups by capturing PSG playmaker Yohan Cabaye. He had played under Pardew before at Newcastle United, though.

Palace have a number of forwards on their books already, though Connor Wickham has been first-choice when fit with the likes of under-used Chelsea loanee Patrick Bamford, Fraizer Campbell, Marouane Chamakh and Dwight Gayle as alternative options to lead the attack.

Should Pardew and Eagles chairman Steve Parish pull off the ambitious signing of Batshuayi, then some of these players will have to be sold to make room in the Selhurst squad for this new arrival.